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A Message from the Metropolitan Archbishops of the Catholic Church in England and Wales

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The radiance of the risen Lord shines upon us. At a time when so many shadows are cast into our lives, and upon our world, the light of the resurrection shines forever to renew and restore our hope. In the words of our Holy Father, Pope Francis: ‘In the midst of isolation when we are suffering from a lack of tenderness and chances to meet up, and we experience the loss of so many things, let us once again listen to the proclamation that saves us: he is risen and is living by our side.’ (27 March 2020)

Faced with the pastoral challenges of the 2020 Covid-19 crisis, members of our Holy Cross Family met on Zoom to discuss what we have been doing and how we could enhance and develop our apostolate in response to the emergency situation. Rooted in our Dominican tradition, we build our responses on the four pillars of Dominican life – prayer, study, community, and mission. See the 2-page document here:

Acts of the Apostles: The Birth of the Church

In our Scripture study sessions from Holy Cross Priory, we now turn during Eastertide to the Acts of the Apostles, looking at how the Church was formed around the Risen Christ and sent out after his Ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. How are we sent today in that same Spirit to our 21st-century society?

There will be input from Fr Matthew with time for discussion and questions.

Please have a Bible to hand, though you can also follow just by listening. If you make sure your microphone and camera are working, you’ll be able to make your own contributions. It will also be possible to ask questions, respond to polls, and chat in the sidebar.

CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC – A DEVELOPING SITUATION

The Conference of Bishops (CBCEW) has now suspended the public celebration of Masses and other services with a congregation. We are now celebrating our Masses behind closed doors, and broadcasting them on our Facebook Page. Please visit Holy Cross Priory Leicester (Dominicans) https://www.facebook.com/holycrossleicester/

CORONAVIRUS – WHAT ARE WE DOING AT HOLY CROSS?

Our church is closed to the public, Masses are celebrated without congregations present, and all Masses are livestreamed at the usual times -please see our facebook –https://www.facebook.com/holycrossleicester/ The Faithful are asked to make a spiritual communion during Mass, formulae for which are provided

In the meantime, the following things will remain in place:

The Dominican Fathers continue to offer pastoral care of the dying, and chaplaincy support to the LRI and other hospitals, in collaboration with the arrangements made by the University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) NHS Trust.

Marriages and baptisms are suspended at this time, except in extreme emergencies, funerals are subject to guidance and can be discussed with us by email leicester@english.op.org – this is by far the best way to contact us. We are gradually catching up with everyone by phone, but please be aware we are dealing with an extraordinary number of calls

Our Facebook page is the principal vehicle for communication at present.

CORONAVIRUS – KEEPING IN TOUCH – USE FACEBOOK PLEASE!!

Now that public worship has been suspended we would hope to broadcast Masses and our community prayer via our Facebook page. We would encourage everyone to sign up to Facebook (even if you don’t usually approve!) and to “like” our page, Holy Cross Priory Leicester (Dominicans). https://www.facebook.com/holycrossleicester/ Please ask us if you need assistance with this! But this is how we are keeping in touch now that we are in a ‘lockdown’ scenario.

MOST IMPORTANTLY – CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER

As cases increase and anxiety rises, it is more likely that the more vulnerable members of our faith community may experience symptoms and have to self-isolate. This is especially the case for the elderly and for students, and also for those who might be outside this category, but living alone for whatever reason. Please let us know at the Priory if it becomes necessary for you to self-isolate, so that we can keep in touch and provide assistance as and when appropriate and necessary. Please also be ready if possible to offer assistance, in a safe and appropriate way, to anyone who might require our assistance. Keep an eye on our facebook presence and also communicate with us as necessary. We are in touch with the local organisations that are keeping things afloat during the pandemic. Please do get in touch and don’t try to manage things yourself.

Fr Isidore, of the Holy Cross community, had to be moved to a nursing home just over a year ago and has been writing reflections on coping with illness, the loss of independence, and the problem of suffering. Previously he had written a book with his fellow Dominican priest and twin brother Peter on the Works of Mercy, and this new project is the other side of that coin: learning how to receive care, rather than give it.

Most of these reflections have been shared already through Facebook, and now Fr Isidore has collected them in this 36-page pamphlet called ‘Coping with illness: a personal approach’. Towards the end he talks about using his bed as his pulpit!

You can download the PDF below to read these reflections. Please consider sharing them with anyone coping with illness, who you think might benefit from his words. Especially at this time, as we go through this Coronavirus crisis, we hope Isidore’s preaching will bring some comfort and meaning to many who are suffering and isolated.

Links:

Click the link below for the electronic copy (PDF), which may be printed in A4 or A5 paper size:

CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC – A DEVELOPING SITUATION

The Conference of Bishops (CBCEW) has prepared comprehensive advice about precautions and procedures in this ever-changing situation. We are following the directives of CBCEW, which follows on the advice from Her Majesty’s Government. This advice is subject to constant revision, relying on a national strategy.

CORONAVIRUS – WHAT ARE WE DOING AT HOLY CROSS?

The main thing to note is that we are following the up-to-date statutory advice, and not acting on privately held opinions, professional or otherwise. To that end, the principal restrictive measures we have in place are as follows:

Communion is distributed under one kind only and on the palm of the hand; communicants who are uncomfortable with this are asked to make a spiritual communion, formulae for which are provided;

The Sign of Peace at Mass is suspended indefinitely;

All “extra-curricular” pastoral gatherings are suspended indefinitely – so this means no social time after Mass and all other such events.

In the meantime, the following things will remain in place:

The regular schedule of Mass and Confession continues for now;

Pastoral visiting of the sick who are not self-isolating or suffering from contagious disease;

Pastoral care of the dying under any circumstance.

Provision for other ordinary sacramental support that falls within the guidelines, such as baptisms, marriages, funerals etc.

Please note that we are continuing to receive updates as the circumstances change, and we will do whatever we can to keep you informed of developments.

CORONAVIRUS – KEEPING IN TOUCH – USE FACEBOOK PLEASE!!

It may well be the case in the coming weeks that we are asked to suspend our Masses and services entirely. In this scenario, we would hope to broadcast Masses and our community prayer via our Facebook page. We would encourage everyone to sign up to Facebook (even if you don’t usually approve!) and to “like” our page, Holy Cross Priory Leicester (Dominicans). Please ask us if you need assistance with this! But this is how we will keep in touch should we arrive at a ‘lockdown’ scenario.

MOST IMPORTANTLY – CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER

As cases increase and anxiety rises, it is more likely that the more vulnerable members of our faith community may experience symptoms and have to self-isolate. This is especially the case for the elderly and for students, and also for those who might be outside this category, but living alone for whatever reason. Please let us know at the Priory if it becomes necessary for you to self-isolate, so that we can keep in touch and provide assistance as and when appropriate and necessary. Please also be ready if possible to offer assistance, in a safe and appropriate way, to anyone who might require our assistance. Keep an eye on our facebook presence and also communicate with us as necessary.

We are delighted to welcome Professor Robin Graham-Brown to speak to us on this topic. As well as having a career in medicine, teaching, research and hospital management, Professor Graham-Brown is a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a Catholic order that strives to help Christians in the Holy Land. He will speak from that experience about the situation for Christians in the country where Jesus Christ lived, died and rose again. And what can we do to help them?

A light soup dinner will be served after the talk and there will be time for questions and discussion.

Following measures to limit the possible spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19), we regret that it will not be possible to meet for the remaining sessions of this Scripture Study series. We are considering ways of potentially running a session online, or the sessions may simply be resumed when the virus threat has decreased. Please watch this space, and our Facebook page, for updates, and keep praying for one another.

***

Our Scripture Study continues in this Year of the Word of God, looking at that theological giant of the New Testament: St Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles.

CONFIRMATION OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE – 24 FEBRUARY 2020

We are looking forward to welcoming +Patrick our Bishop to celebrate our Confirmations on Monday 24 February 2020 at 7pm. Our young people are working really hard with our team of catechists to prepare for the occasion. The group includes young people of a range of ages, both from Holy Cross church and the Woodhouse congregation.

As the preparations continue, we are hoping that many of you will help with making this celebration a really memorable occasion for our young people. Could you help us by volunteering to make this event a real success?

We are also keen to have many people attending and celebrating with us. Please do come and support the young people of our parish.

This Friday evening, Fr Matthew will give a talk on the topic: ‘Holy Cross: our only hope?’

Our church is named after the Holy Cross, and in our 200th anniversary year, this lecture will explore why the Cross has a central place in the life of every Christian, taking its cue from the line in the ancient hymn ‘Vexilla Regis’ which calls the Cross spes unica, our ‘only hope’. This is part of the programme for the Leicester Theological Society, which this year Fr Matthew is serving as President.

The lecture is at 7.30pm on Friday 10 January in the Frassati Centre (St Clement’s Hall at Holy Cross).
All welcome. Tickets are available on the door:
Lecture £5. Annual Subscription £15. Students free.
The lecture is followed by discussion and refreshments.

The Priory of the Holy Cross is home to a community of Dominican friars, serving a large parish in the city centre and a Mass station at the village of Woodhouse in a 14th-century chapel.

The Dominican friars are active in the local community, including the nearby hospital, prison and schools, and provide chaplaincy for Catholic students at the University of Leicester and De Montfort University.

The friars are also active in outreach and education, including speaking on local radio, hosting the Leicester Theological Society, and teaching at seminaries and institutes of higher learning, such as Blackfriars, Oxford.

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